


Bart vs. The Beard

by BreathDeeply578



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Communication Failure, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29799720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreathDeeply578/pseuds/BreathDeeply578
Summary: Still the fucking audacity to imply that… Imply what? Imply that Jamie was a flake. That he was just going to use Bart and leave him. That his love for him was just going to disappear.You have never once told Bartholomew Allen that you love him.Jaime freezes, his angry draining from him instantly.
Relationships: Bart Allen/Jaime Reyes
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	Bart vs. The Beard

**Author's Note:**

> I hope its clear but if the words are in italic then it is Khaji Da inside Jaime's head.

_Jaime Reyes, we have scared Bartholomew Allen_.

Jaime is on the couch, with Barts head in his lap. Bart had been napping, Jamie had been playing with his hair while the movie played. Khaji Da had been content and quite in Jamie’s mind as they watched Ghostbusters together, letting Bart sleep.

Jaime hadn’t even noticed Bart had woken up, but at Khaji Da’s words he had looked down. Fear and pain colored Barts face before he was running down the hall, at normal human speed. It must have been bad if he had forgotten he wasn’t wearing an inhibiter collar and could slip into Speedforce speed.

Bart makes it into the kitchen before he stops almost skidding to a halt.

“I didn’t mean that” Bart chokes out.

The adrenaline in his systems is fading rapidly, it is leaving him shaken and confused.

“That’s it, the beard has got to go.”

Khaji chirps his agreement and Barts face falls.

“No, Blue. Please, its not you. It has never been you.” Bart looks horror struck.

“You told me I am starting to look like _him_!”

“A little, but you aren’t him and when I can see you’re eyes… Its clear. I just had a nightmare that’s all” Bart whispers sounding small and distraught.

“Bart, do you actually like the beard, or do you just not want to ask me to change something about my appearance?”

Bart stills and looks at him.

“Bart, the beard doesn’t matter it can go. You matter. I don’t want you to go.”

Jamie feels a little uncomfortable putting it out there so plainly.

Bart and Jaimie have fun, they hang out. When they both became adults, sometimes that hanging out become more…physical.

It wasn’t fair to say that they weren’t there for each other during the hard stuff because they were. They were on the same team, always. They had each other’s back during any fight, and any team member worth their snuff knows that you have someone’s back after a fight too.

If they needed to sit in the quiet, if they needed to cry, even if they needed to talk the other person was always there.

Sitting next to them. Holding them…. Kissing them.

(They hadn’t really talked about that sort of new development, or what it lead to.)

But here Jaime was, putting real feelings on the line. Not goofing around or talking about the hard _heroing_ stuff like balancing family life and school. he was talking about real feelings. Feelings he had for Bart.

It leaves Jaime feeling exposed.

He almost misses the days when Khaji would respond dramatically to his emotions.

At least then he would have armored him up.

_No, you don’t._

_I would never armor up against Bartholomew Allen when he is in full control of his functions._

The voice tsk in his mind.

Bart is still silently staring, and Jaime thinks he could probably jump out the window of his apartment building.

It was only six stories up, Khaji would armor him up then.

_Don’t test me._

“Bart, dude, are you okay?”

“You mean it?”

Bart is still looking at him, like he isn’t sure what to do. Jaime hates it.

_Bartholomew Allen’s emotions are currently unbalanced. Suggestive tactic, reassure him._

Jaime barely controls the impulse to roll his eyes, knowing Bart would take it as directed at him.

Still, a small part of him is pretty proud, Khaji tactics have been becoming less violent and more emotional as time passes. Jaime had started to take his tactical advice seriously, trusting him fully. It was a nice feeling. Khaji had come so far.

Khaji hums with the praise and Jaime feels it go down his spine.

“Jaime, I know you are talking to Khaji right now, but I kind of need you in this moment with me.”

“You have me.”

Because it’s the most honest statement Jaime could make, and this conversation seems to be an honest one.

“Did you mean what you said?”

Bart is starting to shrink down, pulling into himself. Jaime knows from experience it is excruciatingly difficult to get him out of that headspace once he is there.

“When I said that you were more important then my beard? Absolutely.”

Jaime doesn’t even think he looks that good with it. He had mostly just wanted a change. He thought it made him look a little older, more rugged.

“No. Well, yes. But more importantly what you said after that. That you don’t want me to go?”

Bart is honestly confusing the fuck out of Jaime now. Of course, he wanted Bart to stay. When had ever given the impression that he hadn’t?

Okay, maybe when they were teenagers and Jaime wanted like two minutes alone with Traci. Even then he never asked Bart to leave. He never actually wanted Bart to go. He just wanted to be with Traci in peace for a few minutes.

Plus that problem worked itself out, before any emotions came to a head, when Bart started dating Ed.

So, no. Its not like Jaime had asked Bart to go. Ever.

Since adulthood, the thought has never even crossed his mind that he wanted Bart to go. He has always fucking wanted him. Bart new that.

He is suddenly irritated.

_Reassure Jaime Reyes_

He figures that Khaji must know or understand something he doesn’t, so he decides to follow his advice.

“Bart, of course I don’t want you to go. Where the fuck is this coming from?”

Well, he mostly takes his advice. It isn’t his fault some of the irritation leaks through now, is it?

“For how long? How long do you want me to stay?”

Bart's voice is small as fuck when he asks that.

“What, do you think there is like some kind of time limit? Then I will just what? Be done with you? Fuck Bart. Who do you think I am?”

_Jaime Reyes_

Yeah, okay he got it. Too much irritation was leaking into his voice. Bart had actually flinched at the tone of his voice that time.

Still the fucking audacity to imply that… Imply what? Imply that Jaime was a flake. That he was just going to use Bart and leave him. That his love for him was just going to disappear.

_You have never once told Bartholomew Allen that you love him._

Jaime freezes, his angry draining from him instantly.

“What is it? What did Khaji tell you?” Bart asks sounding panicked.

_I’m not a gossip. Tell him I was not going to divulge any of those things he told me in confidence._

So, Bart and Khaji talked? Without him?

Khaji knew something about Bart that he himself was not privy too.

He was going to unpack that later.

Right now, he had to responded to Bart's frantic questioning. And because it was the easiest answer and his brain had shut down for the moment he responded with the truth.

“He told me that I have never told you that I love you.”

A small whine escapes past Bart’s lip.

“Yeah, well no. You never have.”

“Huh. I really swear I had…”

Bart is now shaking a little. The way he does when he’s angry, nervous, excited or holding himself back.

Jaime couldn’t tell which one of those things was causing it now.

Probably all four.

“I think… I think I would have remembered that” Bart whispers so softly.

“All the missions? All the family and school stuff? All the time’s I’ve been _with you_ and I’ve never said it?”

Jaime just feels dumb now.

“No…. You… You still haven’t said it now.”

Bart looks terribly sad and confused and Jaime does not like the space between them.

But Bart had put it there, and he was already the one doing all this emotional lifting here, so Bart could pick the fucking slack up a bit.

_Jaime Reyes you are twenty-six years old. Stop acting like an angry adolescent._

“I love you.”

“How?”

“How what?” Jaime scoffs.

God, why is Bart being so fucking frustrating?

“How do you love me?”

Bart’s voice is barely a whisper now.

“How do I love you? I just do. You… You… You are so fucking annoying. And funny, and smart and fucking beautiful. You have stood by myside through some of the worst fucking times of my life. You had such a hard life and still… still you had the strength to come here, come back in time and fucking save me. You just, you’re radiant.”

Khaji is clicking away, they can both hear it, he is probably laughing at them…

“That… I meant to ask in what way do you love me?”

Bart is blushing so fucking hard. He looks so pretty.

“Oh. Yeah. Well. You ‘no”

“Yeah, I kind of do now…”

The blush is all the way down his neck. Jaime face feels hot too. This is embarrassing and hard and Bart should have already known all this!

“Okay, well good. Now you know.”

Jaime doesn’t know where to go from here. He isn't sure how to get them back on track now. He really just wants Bart to sit back down next to him on the couch, but he is still screaming _bolt it_ energy.

Jaime just decided to go back and sit on the couch. Then Bart could either leave or stay. Without Jaime eyes on him maybe he would stop freezing up with that deer in the head lights look.

As he sits down, he hears Bart shuffle then creep closer.

“I… ummm. I love you too. Like that. I also… I also don’t want you to go. Ever.”

Bart is so fucking awkward with this stuff.

Jaime can’t fault him for it though.

His developmental years were nothing but fucking tragedy. Bart had quietly and painfully opened up about his future a few times to Jaime. He still kept some things to himself, but Jaime had come to understand enough. 

Bart had proven time and time again that he struggled to express himself in any real way. Instead choosing to hide behind jokes, smiles and heroism.

_Its not like you handled that particularly well either Jaime Reyes_

Jaime huffs at him.

“Is Khaji mad at us?” Bart asks softly.

“No. just me.” Jaime snorts.

Bart nods, sitting down stiff as a board next to Jaime on the couch.

“Can I just fucking kiss you now?”

Jaime’s voice has lost all the bite it had to it before. Now he just seemed whiney.

Apparently emotional intimacy makes him cranky.

Khaji clicks in his head again.

“You can always kiss me” Bart responds softly.

Jaime makes two very important revelation at the exact same time.

Well one especially important revelation and one less important one.

One. Well, Soft!Bart he could fucking get it.

Like seriously, who even gave him the right to be that cute and pretty when he was being vulnerable. Especially when it apparently just made Jaime prickly to be vulnerable.

More importantly though, how did Jaime not realize that he was fucking around with Bart’s heart?

Jaime had been hurting him. He hadn’t even meant to. For some reason this fucking asshole, annoying, adorable, precious, idiot had somehow not seen Jaime was very much in love with him.

And it had been killing him.

Fuck. Jaime had to fix that.

Khaji had descended into condescending clicks and vague feelings he sent Jaime’s way.

Jaime reaches across the couch to cups Bart’s face and pulls him closer.

“I love you. I am in love you. I have probably been in love with you for years.”

Bart just melts, rubbing his cheek against Jaime’s palm. Like a really cute cat. God, Bart was so cute.

“I love you. I am in love you. I have probably been in love with you since I was thirteen.”

Jaimie grimaces.

“What?” Bart says indignantly.

“Thirteen is too young. It makes me sound like a dirty old man.”

“You were sixteen at the time!”

“Yeah... still... you had been so young…”

“And now?” Bart asks. Clearly done letting Jaime’s brain go down that path.

“Now you are so hot, and wonderful, and precious.”

Bart was blushing in full force again.

“And blushyyyyy” Jaime teases.

“Weren’t you going to kiss me?” Bart asks.

Voice bratty and just like his old self again.

“Yeah, I was” Jaime mumbles as he goes in for the kiss.


End file.
